Airbus to up investment in India to $1b
Pallab Bhattacharya, New Delhi
Lured by the long-term growth potential of India's burgeoning civil aviation sector and resultant business prospects, European aircraft maker Airbus has said it would double investment in this country to at least one billion dollars over next decade.India, one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets, would need 1,100 new passenger aircraft and freighters over the next 20 years to meet soaring air travel demand, Airbus India President Kiran Rao told reporters here on Thursday. He said the European plane manufacturer had originally pledged to invest $500 million to $600 million in India over the next decade as part of a $2.5-billion deal to sell 43 aircraft to the state-owned carrier, Indian. "That investment figure has gone up to around one billion dollars and it will be much more", Rao said, adding "It's just the beginning". The commitment of the investment is for pilot training, sub-assembly and engineering services and other projects, he said. Of the new planes India would need, Airbus estimates 935 passenger carriers and 165 freighters, he added. Global market forecast of Airbus said India would have an average annual passenger air traffic growth of 7.7 percent until 2025, well above the world average of 4.8 percent and China's 7.2 percent.
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